Device and method for supporting wagering systems in games of chance

ABSTRACT

The device and method of the present invention configures a gaming device to have an improved data input key set to facilitate the players wagering activity according to one or more wagering systems such as Martingale, Anti-Martingale and others. The device and method can also configure a processor to detect wagering according a system and thereafter display the suggested next wager according to the system.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

[0001] This application is a conversion of prior filed and commonlyowned provisional patent application No. 60/455,472 filed Mar. 17, 2003and titled “Method and System For Supporting Betting Systems In Games ofChance”.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0002] The present invention relates to electronic gaming systems anddevices and more particularly to methods and systems providing for aplayer to enter their desired wager amounts for games of chance.

BACKGROUND

[0003] Casino wagering games are very popular. Such games range fromlive games such as Blackjack, Craps, Pai Gow Poker, Baccarat toelectronic video games such as video Poker, slot machines, videoBlackjack and other virtual games. Modernly it has been known to providelive and virtual games through the Internet to remotely located players.These games are received by the player at their home, personal computeror personal data assistant (PDA) or cellular telephone for play. Playmay be based upon actual money wagered or for purely entertainment byproviding for the wagering of virtual credits.

[0004] For wagering with real money monetary and/or wagering withfictitious credits, there are a number of popular betting systems thatrecommend changing your bet size based on your prior outcomes. Thesebetting systems are popular with many gamblers for many reasons,including: providing a structured approach to their wagering experience,giving the player a high likelihood of achieving a small gain by riskinga much larger bankroll and appealing to people's intuitive sense of howgame outcomes should normally occur.

[0005] Some examples of these systems are described below.

[0006] According to the Martingale System, if you lost your previousbet, then you should double your last bet for the next hand, play, roundor spin. Otherwise you should drop your wager to your normal startingbet for the system sequence. This wagering system may be expressed asfollows, where W is the player selected base, or initial series wager;

Play Wager=W×2^((number of consecutive losing outcomes))

[0007] In this wagering strategy, it is very unlikely that you will losea number of outcomes in a row, so by risking a large bankroll, you veryhigh chance of winning the equivalent of his initial wager. For example,you chose 5 as your base wager to place on the BLACK bet in roulette. Ifyou win, you are up 5 units. The next play you again wager 5 units. Ifyou lose the first bet of 5 units, for the next game you bet 10 units.If you win this bet, then you will have bet 5+10 units over the twogames and have 20 units in winnings, therefore you will be ahead 5units. If you lose the 10 unit bet, you double the wager on the nextgame to 20. If you win this bet, you will have bet 5+10+20 and have 40in winnings so you will be up 5.

[0008] The Anti-Martingale System protocol is that if you won yourprevious bet, then double your last bet for the next round of play;otherwise wager the normal starting bet chosen for your sequence. Thusthis wagering strategy may be expressed as follows, where W is theplayer chosen starting wager for the sequence,

Play Wager=W×2^((number of consecutive winning outcomes))

[0009] This strategy appeals to people who believe in trying to takeadvantage of lucky streaks. This viewpoint may occasionally have somevalidity in a game like blackjack whereby depletion of certain cards inthe deck may make improve expected payback for the player.

[0010] The Labouchere System (or cancellation system) requires you writedown a series of numbers e.g. the numbers 1, 5, 15 and 25. The initialbet is sum of first and last numbers of the series multiplied by theselected base wager W for the series. If you lose, then the next bet issum of 2nd and 2nd to last numbers, etc. until you either win or untilyou've completed the series. This wagering strategy may be expressed asfollows,

Play Wager=W×(1+25); first play loss change bet to W×(5+15).

[0011] The appeal of this system may lie in people's viewpoint that inorder to lose on this betting system, the player must lose more thantwice as often as he wins.

[0012] The d'Alembert System wager strategy is started with any base betamount, if you win, increase your bet by 1 unit (which may be, forexample $5, $10 or the amount of the strategy sequence starting wager W)for the next round of play. If you lose, decrease you bet by 1 unit.This strategy may be generally expressed as follows:

Play Wager=W+(M×±wager unit), where M is equal to the number ofconsecutive wins (+) or losses (−).

[0013] For the Regression System you start with a wager of 2 units, ifyou win, increase bet for the next round by 1 unit, if you lose,decrease by 1 unit. For the Parlay System, if you win, you add yourwinnings to your original bet for the next bet, for a specific number oftimes (e.g. only once or only twice). If you lose you drop your bet tothe beginning amount.

[0014] This invention addresses two independent areas of improvement toassist people who wish to play a betting system.

[0015] Whether for a live table game, or video-based game or othergaming device, the player must mentally, or using paper and pencil, keeptrack of where they are in their chosen system progression to know howto vary their bet. It would be advantageous to provide a display for theplayer that indicates where they are in their betting series and whatthe next wager should be based upon their chosen betting system.

[0016] For live table games, it is relatively easy for the player tomanipulate their money, coins, chips or other monetary tokens in orderto vary their bet size. However for a video-based game or other gamingdevice, including an Internet video game, where the player controlstheir wager by control buttons, either as part of a video touch screenand/or as physical buttons, keys or knobs or by manipulating a cursor ona video screen by a mouse, joystick or other pointing device, it can becumbersome for the player to vary their bet. For example, some videobased games require the player to increase or decrease their bet by 1unit by making a separate button press on a BET UP or BET DOWN buttonfor each 1 unit change. So, to raise your bet from 20 to 40, you mayneed to press the BET UP button 20 times. Other video game systems offerthe player a bet control interface that is based upon casino chips ofdifferent size. The player can raise his bet by the selected size, by,for example, clicking on the selected chip icon on the video screen orby dragging and dropping the chip icon from the chip area to the betarea or by clicking on the betting icon on the video screen after havingclicked on the appropriate chip icon on the betting screen. For a playerto place a 40-credit bet, he may have to first select the 5 chip andthen add this bet eight times. Alternately, he could select the 25 chip,add this bet once, then select the 5 chip and bet it three times.

[0017] It would be useful in video-based game applications, especiallyfor video-based applications over the Internet to provide the playerwith keys, buttons or shortcuts for quickly wagering according tobetting system strategies.

[0018] Finally, it should be pointed out that some of the bet controlfeatures described in this invention may be of use to players who arenot necessarily following a betting system but who which to takeadvantage of these innovative betting conveniences. For example, aplayer who wishes to easily increase their bet to take advantage of ahigher bankroll made possible by winning outcomes may wish to use aDouble Bet feature. Likewise, a player whose bankroll is diminishing maywish to quickly lower his betting size with a HALF BET feature.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0019] There is, therefore, set forth according to the present inventionan improved device and method which simplifies and provides shortcutsfor a player to place wagers on a series of games according to one ormore wagering strategies.

[0020] Toward this end, there is set forth an improved gaming device andmethod for a player to play a series wagering game plays A_(1-N) of thetype which, for each play, produces at least one of a winning or losingoutcome and where, if a losing outcome is produced, the player losestheir wager on that play and where if a winning outcome is produced theplayer wins an award based upon their wager. For example the games maybe Blackjack, Baccarat, Pai Gow Poker or other wagering card games,Roulette, Craps or even video based games such as video Poker or slotmachines. The games may be computer generated or may be live games suchas a live Blackjack game broadcast over the Internet to players playingthe games from remote terminals or computers.

[0021] The device includes an electronic display. Means are provided toselect and display at said display game indicia according to the rulesof the game to serially produce said game play outcomes. These means mayinclude a game computer to generate the game symbols on a player'sterminal or may be a broadcast system to broadcast images of live playfor players to play from a remote terminal.

[0022] A processor is provided, as is a data input device incommunication with said processor, for a player to input a wager foreach of said game plays The input device includes a plurality of wagervalue input keys arranged to allow a player to more easily wageraccording to a betting strategy by allowing player to specify a newwager based upon their previous wager. That is, for example, if thepreceding game play was a loss, a particular wagering strategy or system(such as Martingale or Anti-Martingale) may suggest doubling theplayer's next game play wager. Hence a key for this system may be a“DOUBLE” key which, if actuated by the player, doubles his previous bet.Data corresponding to the player's wager amounts are stored by saidprocessor.

[0023] Means are provided for a player and for a first game play A₁according to said wager strategy, to select with the input device aninitial wager W. That is, for example under the Martingale System andfor the first wager of the wagering strategy, the player may select $5.Data corresponding to said selected initial wager transmitted to saidprocessor. The processor is configured to determine if the outcome ofplay A₁ is a winning or losing outcome. The data input device valueinput keys are operable by the player, based upon said outcome of playA₁, to input the game wager for the next play based upon said strategy.For example, for the Martingale System or Anti-Martingale System, theremay be the DOUBLE bet key as described above to double the previouswager for a loss and a SAME BET key to make the same wager as was madefor the previous game play.

[0024] The device and method may be configured to include other shortcutkeys for players to implement one or more wagering system strategies.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0025] These and other features and advantages will become betterappreciated as the same becomes better understood with reference to thedescription wherein:

[0026]FIG. 1 is a display illustrating one embodiment of the presentinvention showing the key features according to the present invention;

[0027]FIG. 2 shows a partial display illustrating a further embodimentof the present invention;

[0028]FIG. 3 shows a partial display illustrating yet a furtherembodiment of the present invention;

[0029]FIG. 4 shows an example of a presentation of the keys according toone embodiment of the present invention; and

[0030]FIG. 5 shows a logic diagram for a Martingale wagering systemstrategy that can be implemented with the key features of the presentinvention.

DESCRIPTION

[0031] 1. Overview

[0032] This invention covers the addition of possible mechanisms to givethe player easier control over their bet amounts, especially when donein conjunction with popular betting systems and strategies. These aremost appropriate in situations where the player is betting via some formof computer interface, or via control buttons, keys or other inputdevices.

[0033] The present invention can be used in regards to displays for theplay of live table games or for electronic games, electro-mechanicalgame and games played over the Internet.

[0034] Turning to the drawings, FIG. 1 shows one display 10 according toone embodiment of the present invention where the betting system. Thedisplay 10 is controlled by a computer processor (not shown) ofconventional design. The processor controls the display 10 to displayinformation for the play of the game. In a game area 12 the indicia forthe play of the game are displayed for wagering action by the player aswell for, when appropriate, play of the game. For example, if the gameis a live game the game area 12 may display representation of the dealtplaying cards or of virtual cards dealt for the play of the game. Wherethe game is played from a remote location such as for play through theInternet, the game area 12 would display the playing cards for thechosen game. Based upon the indicia or cards dealt in the game area 12,the player may be required to take action such as to complete the handof cards of a hand a Blackjack according to the rules of the game. Othergames may be played as well such as Caribbean Stud Poker®, Baccarat,Roulette or other such games.

[0035] The display 10 may also be controlled to display, for example, apay table 14 for the game to provide information to the player as to theawards available for designated outcomes.

[0036] The display is also controlled to display to the player theamounts paid at 16, as well as the amount previously bet at 18. To helpthe player enter chosen wagers, certain keys, buttons or other datainput means are provided such as unit keys 20 a-d for the player todesignate the units being wagered, e.g. a 5 unit wager at 20 a, a tenunit wager at 20 b, a twenty-five unit wager at 20 c and a one hundredunit wager at 20 d. Where the display 10 is a player's computer monitor,the display 10 may be a touch screen display whereby by touching thekeys the corresponding units are wagered. Other data input means mayinclude a mouse to locate a cursor on the selected key, keyboard orother data input means.

[0037] For facilitating the wagering according to known betting systems,the device and method of the present invention also includes system keys22 a-c. Key 22 a clears any prior wager and permits the player to begina new wager or series of wagering according to a betting system. Key 22b is a double the bet button or key that prompts the processor to entera wager for the next hand or round of play that is twice the prior bet.For example, under one wagering system protocol such as the Martingalesystem, if the player has lost the previous game, the system suggestswagering double the previous wager for the next game play. This key canbe used in conjunction with re-bet button or key (FIGS. 2 and 3)) thatwould wager the same amount as in the previous hand or round. The doublethe bet key 22 b could then cause this value to double as is suggestedin the Martingale and Anti-Martingale betting systems. Optionally, thedouble the bet key 22 b could be used to always double the current betevery time it is activated.

[0038] If bet doubling would cause the wager to exceed table maximum,the processor could be configured as follows: the key 22 b could be comeinactive when it cannot do a full double the bet could be increased tomatch the table maximum prompting the player to ask them if they wish to

[0039] do nothing

[0040] increase their bet to the table maximum

[0041] move to a higher denomination table, if available (with astarting bet equal to twice the current wager)

[0042] Likewise, if the players balance is not large enough to exactlydouble the bet, then similar options are possible:

[0043] the button could be come inactive when there is insufficientfunds to do a full double

[0044] the button could be increased up to the remaining amountavailable

[0045] the player could be prompted, telling them of the state of theirbalance and offering to

[0046] do nothing

[0047] apply remainder of balance to the bet

[0048] go to screen allowing player to add more money to their balance

[0049] Like the double the bet key 22 b, there may be provided a halvethe bet Button or key: This key (not shown) is similar to the double thebet key but instead it cuts your bet in half every time it is pressed orentered. Instead of table maximum, this would be limited by tableminimum. If a bet cannot be evenly cut in half, it could be rounded upto the nearest betable unit.

[0050] Also not shown but which may be provided is an add 1 unit key.This button or key adds 1 unit to the last bet for the next round ofplay. In combination with a Subtract 1 unit key, this would providesupport for a d'Alembert betting system. While some video-based gamblinggames have as their sole betting interface, an Add 1 button and aSubtract 1 button, (which can be found, for example, in Microgaming'sonline casino game user interface)s, the innovation here is the additionof an Add 1 button and Subtract 1 button as an adjunct to a chip basedbetting control for the purpose of making systems betting easier toaccomplish.

[0051] Current chip based betting controls currently do not support theeasy adjustment of a bet by one unit up or down. For example, if yourcurrent bet is $10, and you want to make it $9, you usually have toremove $5 and then add four $1 bets or remove all $10 and then add a $5(if available) and four $1 bets or add nine $1 bets.

[0052] With reference to FIG. 3 there may also be provided a feature ofadding N units, e.g. +5 units as shown by key 30. This key, if promptedwould add the N unit increment to the next wager to accommodate, forexample, the d'Alembert System. Like Add 1 Unit, but where the playergets to specify the increment amount.

[0053] The Subtract N unit key 32 may be provided as the converse to theAdd X units key 30 to also accommodate certain betting systems.

[0054] Not shown, there may also be provided a Next Button or key: Thiskey, if prompted, updates your bet to be the next value in the series.This could be a use-once button that sets the bet value to the propervalue. Alternately, if pressed multiple times, it could continue toadvance as if the next outcome were the same as the last. For example,for a Martingale system where the player lost a $10 bet, first press ofNext would bet $20, the 2nd press would bet $40 (as if you had a loss onthe $20).

[0055] A Previous button or key compliments of the Next button. This keyallows the player to go the other direction in the sequence. Forexample, if you double press the Next button, then pressing the PreviousBet button brings you to state equal to single Next, and another pressof Previous button yields your prior bet.

[0056] All of the above buttons or keys could work in conjunction with aCLEAR or CLEAR BETS button, which removes all placed wager. At thispoint, REBET, DOUBLE, NEXT etc. would-work just as they would rightafter the end of the prior game.

[0057] Instead of, or in addition to, the previous button control, therecould also be presented a series of possible bet amounts that the playercould pick. For example, this could present the forward and reverseseries, as well as the base bet for the player to pick. As a furtherexample, for a base bet of 5 in a Martingale System after a $40 loss,the series could be $5-$20-$40-$80-$160, which correspond to base bet,prior to last bet, last bet, recommended next bet, bet after next (whichis same as double-double). The $80 would be the default value but theplayer can choose any of the others via mouse click or screen press orpressing navigation buttons or navigation keys and an activation buttonor activation key, etc.

[0058] A special bet series display may optionally be provided. Thiscould show the bet history through a given series. For example, showingthe history of lost bets, and their singular values and cumulative valueuntil a bet is won or until the player decides to start again. For aLabouchere System, the display 10 could display the number series beingworked upon, including those numbers scratched off the series due tolosing bets.

[0059] Game specific support for most of the betting innovationsdescribed herein can be provided. For example, for games like Pai GowPoker or wagers like the “Bank” bet in Baccarat with a 5% commission onwins, then pure doubling of your bets won't necessarily guarantee thatyou will be ahead after successfully finishing a sequence. Therefore, aSmart Double or Smart Next could provide a sufficient boost above doublein order to guarantee that the player will end a successful streak witha positive increase in balance.

[0060] Another example special steps can be taken for outcomes involvingadjustments to bets during the course of play, such as double down andsplit in Blackjack, or making a Raise bet in Caribbean Stud Poker® orbased on whether wagers are withdrawn from Let It Ride®. Additionally,there are sometimes exceptional pays in games such as a natural 21 inBlackjack or a particularly high hand outcomes in Caribbean Stud Poker®.For the d'Alembert System, these kinds of mid-play betting adjustmentsor extra large pays result in an additional unit being applied for eachextra original wager. For doubling systems, the bet in the series couldbe based on the actual amount won (Martingale) or lost(Anti-Martingale.) instead of just the initial size of the previouswager.

[0061] Players could be given control over a number of these functions.For example, for the Next or Next button and Previous buttons, theplayer could select their betting system of choice. Additionally, if aLabouchere System is supported, the player might be able to chose from anumber of different series and/or specify their own series.

[0062] The device and these methods can be applied to almost anygambling game, but especially those in games with high hit frequencies,such as game with hit frequency of 30% or more, including Blackjack,Baccarat, Pai Gow Poker, Caribbean Stud Poker®, Stud Poker, Casino War®,Video Poker, Three Card Poker®, Pai Gow Tiles, Let it Ride®, etc.

[0063] Additionally there could be offered and Auto Play key. One couldoffer the above features in conjunction with an auto-play mode wherebyyou establish a starting bankroll, a starting bet size, a bettingstrategy (including bet the same amount) and betting strategy options,if any, and your ending criteria which could include: quit after Xcredits won, quit after Y credits lost, quit after N hands won, quitafter M hands lost, quit after K hands played, quit after J hands lostin a row, quit after L hands won in a row, etc. This could be done forgame that requires no play strategy, such as roulette, or for games ofskill where an auto-hold feature is available, such as Pai Gow Poker, orfor games where a customizable auto-hold feature could be possible, suchas a selecting play criteria for Blackjack.

[0064] The Auto Play feature can also be offered with display optionswhich represent the history of play and current state of exit criteria,etc. For example, you could represent wining and losing outcomes,amounts won and lost in these outcomes, etc. You might also be able togive some indication of how many more trials might be possible. Thiscould be optimistic and/or pessimistic. For example, for a game withstraight betting with a 20 hands stopping criteria, you could showminimum number of possible hands in one color and maximum number (20) ina different color. The display could also include summary statisticsincluding data such as hands won, hands lost, betting sequencescompleted successfully, betting sequences finished without a success,total amount won (or lost), total remaining in the active bankroll,estimate of minimum and maximum hands remaining, number of special wins(like Blackjack or Double Down in the game of blackjack), number ofstreak wins (2 in a row, 3 in a row, etc.), number of streak losses (2in a row, 3 in a row, etc.).

[0065] This invention can be described as a device Information storagedevice to store prior game outcomes including size of wagers, size ofwinnings. Input device for player to control bet using mechanismsdescribed above. Optional display device that can show things like:

[0066] game history

[0067] history of current bet series

[0068] state of betting series, if appropriate

[0069] suggested next bet size

[0070] 2. A Device

[0071] Turning to FIG. 4 there is illustrated an example of a device 100configured according to the present invention. The device 100 has ahousing 102 that mounts a display 104 such as a VRT, plasma display ofother electronic display. Disposed within the housing is a processor 106that controls the display 104 and the other features of the device 100.

[0072] The exemplary device 100 shown in FIG. 4 is configured for theplay of a game of Casino War, which, by its nature, includes the displayof a player hand card 108 in the player card display area 109 and adealer hand card 110 in the dealer card display area 111. For thisexample, it is assumed that this game is defined as follows. The playerplaces a wager, initiates play, and wins if his card is of higher rankthan the dealer. In this example, the player loses if his rank is lessthan or matches that of the dealer (a tie), though in the traditionalCasino War games offered in casinos, there are additional rules tohandle player-dealer ties.

[0073] As referenced above, in one embodiment, the processor 106 may beconfigured and programmed to select and display at the display 104 thecards for each hand. Alternatively, where the play is live, the display104 would display the cards for each hand of play as broadcast from alive gaming table as, for example, over the Internet. Suffice it to say,the processor 106 and display 104 are configured to display the cardsselected for the player and dealer hands 108, 110. There is display areafor game information 112, which could include winner designationinformation, player prompts, prior card history, marketing messages,etc. There is a display area for betting information, which can includesuch data as amount wagered, amount won, amount carried in balance,betting history, bet series status, etc. As is known in the art, theplayer using various control keys and buttons the player can controlplay to obtain an outcome for the game play. In this sample device,there is shown both touch screen controls 121-128 (soft buttons) in thescreen control area 120 and the equivalent controls offered via hardbuttons 131-138 in the hard button control area 130. The device 100 alsofeatures a mechanism for accepting wagers 140 and a mechanism for theplayer to cash out his winnings and or credit balance 142.

[0074] With continuing reference to FIG. 4, the device 100 has aplurality of game control buttons. A DEAL soft button 128 and the DEALhard button equivalent 138 is a deal button that prompts the processor106 to present the cards for an initial hand of play, e.g. one card tothe player hand 108 and one card to the dealer hand 110. A CASH OUT softbutton 121 and hard button equivalent 131, if actuated by the player,prompts the processor 106 to dispense the accumulated credits and fundsto the player as by dispensing tokens or printing a credit voucher whichis dispensed from a ticket writer 142. A “BET One +1” soft button 124and hard button equivalent 134 enables a player to wager in singlecredit or unit increments by depressing that button. A “BET −1” softbutton 123 and hard button equivalent 133 enables a player to reduce thewager in single credit or unit increments by depressing that button. ACLEAR BETS soft button 122 and hard button equivalent 132 enables aplayer to undo all wagers by depressing that button.

[0075] The DOUBLE BET soft button 126 and hard button equivalent 136, ifactuated by the player, doubles the wager from the immediately precedinggame play hand for the next hand of play. For example, if the player onthe last hand wagered $10, actuation of the DOUBLE BET soft button 126or the DOUBLE BET hard button 136 would input a wager to the processor106 of $20. Without the DOUBLE BET soft button 126 or the DOUBLE BEThard button 136 the player would not have to remember their prior betand manipulate the bet buttons to make the doubling wager. As statedabove, according to some systems (Martingale and Anti-Martingale) theoutcome of the previous hand controls whether the next bet should bedoubled. The DOUBLE BET soft button 126 and DOUBLE BET hard button 136,if depressed when a wager is already present, will double the value ofthat wager. This provides a convenient method to allow the player toincrease his bet size.

[0076] The REBET soft button 127 and REBET hard button equivalent 137,is active when no wager is yet placed and if depressed when active,causes the wager amount from the prior game to be placed. This providesa quick and convenient method to restore the prior bet.

[0077] The BASE BET soft button 125 and hard button equivalent 135, ifdepressed, causes the current wager amount to be set the amount from thelast game whose wager amount was directly set. This is useful forsupporting certain betting systems as can be shown in the followingexample.

[0078] To play the game using, for example, a Martingale wagering systemstrategy, the player makes a first wager to begin the system series. Forexample, the player begins with a wager of 5 units by pressing the “BET+1” button 124 five times and the pressing the DEAL button 120. The handis played to produce, for example a player hand winning outcome. Theprocessor 106 is configured to determine whether each outcome is awinning or losing outcome (where the game-type may produce a tie, thoseare recorded as well). Thus, since the player wagered 5 units and had awinning outcome he would win 5 units and be paid 10 units (paid back hiswager plus the win amount). The table below sets forth an example of aseries of outcomes (winning and losing) and the wagering that would bedone by the player. Hand Wager Outcome Pay A₁  5 Units Win 10 A₂  5Units Loss Lost 5 Units A₃ 10 Units Loss Lost 10 Units A₄ 20 Units LossLost 20 Units A₅ 40 Units Win 80 Units A₆  5 Units Win 10 Units

[0079] As stated above, under the Martingale system, when the playerloses they continue to double the previous wager until they win. Whenthey win they return to the base wager of, in this example, 5 units.

[0080] By providing the REBET soft button 127 and hard button equivalent137, the player can easily restore his prior wager with one button pressin hand A₂ By providing the DOUBLE BET soft button 126 and DOUOBLE BEThard button equivalent 136 according to the present invention, theplayer can easily implement the system strategy by allowing the playerto double his prior bet with a single input. When there is a loss, suchas after hands A₂through A₄, the player simply actuates the DOUBLE BETsoft button 126 or DOUBLE BET hard button 136. When the player winsafter one or more losses, he can restore his original wager by pressingthe BASE BET soft button 125 or BASE BET hard button 135.

[0081] The processor 106 may be configured to keep and display anhistorical record of the player's wagers in the betting info displayarea 114 and the outcomes for each so the player may keep track of wherethey are in the wagering strategy process. Still further, the processor106 may be configured for the player to select a wagering system to beimplemented and based thereon, control the display 102 to display orhighlight what would be the next wager according to the system. For theexample above, the processor 106 would highlight the DOUBLE BET button126 or DOUBLE BET hard button 136 when the outcome is a loss.

[0082] The processor 106 may be configured to detect that the player iswagering according to a system protocol. Accordingly the processor 106would be programmed to historically compare the player's wagers and theoutcomes to data that would correspond to a known wagering system. Ifthe processor 106 detects a correspondence, it would control the display102 to highlight the appropriate wager or wagering button for the nextgame play.

[0083] As can be appreciated with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4, thedisplay 104 may be configured to have the keys or buttons as describedwith reference thereto.

[0084] Turning to FIG. 5, a logic diagram is shown for implementation ofa Martingale wagering system according to the present invention. At 200the player inputs a wager to play the game play, e.g. hand of casinoWar. At the beginning of a series this wager may be designated as W₁ andmay be, for example, ten units. At 202 the device 100 selects ofdisplays the game play outcome according to the rules of the game. At204 the processor 106 (or the player) determines whether the outcome wasa winning or a losing outcome. If the outcome is a winning outcome, theplayer, using the data input keys, enters the base wager W₁ (ten units)for the next game play as shown by rebet 206. If the outcome was a loss,the Martingale system suggests the player double his prior bet. At 208the player would enter a wager that is double the prior wager, e.g.twenty units. At 210 the processor 106 compares the doubling bet to apredetermined maximum wager permitted for the game, e.g. 500 units. Ifthe doubling wager is less than the maximum wager permitted, thedoubling wager is entered and made for the next hand of play. If at 210the processor 106 determines that the doubling wager would exceed themaximum permitted wager, the processor 106 at 212 controls the display104 to display this condition and to set forth the maximum wagerpermitted (which is less than the doubling wager. The player would then(1) rebet the prior wager (not double) or (2) accept a wager of themaximum amount.

[0085] Thus the various data input keys of the present invention providethe player with easy shortcuts for the player to input wagers accordingto one or more wagering systems. It is believed that by providing theshortcut keys, the rate of play and/or the wager sizes can be increased,which results in more revenues to the casino. Further, the keys makewagering more convenient to the player and can actually reduce theiroverall betting exposure. For example, if the player is using a wageringsystem that recommends the following series: $10, $20, $40, $80, withoutthis invention, a player would be likely to over wager with a wagerseries that is much easier to specify: $10, $25, $50, $100.

[0086] While I have shown and described certain embodiments of thepresent invention it should be understood that it is subject to manymodifications and changes without departing from the spirit and scope ofthe claims.

I claim:
 1. An improved gaming device for a player to play a serieswagering game plays A_(1-N) of the type that, for each play, produces atleast one of a winning or losing outcome, and where, if a losing outcomeis produced, the player loses their wager on that play, and where, if awinning outcome is produced, the player wins an award based upon theirwager, said device comprising: an electronic display; means to selectand display at said display game indicia according to the rules of thegame to serially produce said game play outcomes; a processor; a datainput device in communication with said processor for a player to inputa wager for each of said game plays, said input device having aplurality of wager value input keys arranged according to at least onewager strategy for determining the wager amount for a play based upon atleast at least whether the next preceding game play outcome, datacorresponding to said wager amount stored by said processor; means for aplayer, for a first game play A₁ according to said wager strategy, toselect with said input device an initial wager W, data corresponding tosaid selected initial wager transmitted to said processor; saidprocessor configured to determine if the outcome of play A₁ is a winningor losing outcome, said data input device value input keys operable bythe player based upon said outcome of play A₁ to input the game wagerfor the next play based upon said strategy.
 2. The improved device ofclaim 1 comprising said data input device configured to include an inputkey to input the wager for the next play which inputs the wager for thenext play according to the wagering strategy of PlayWager=W×2^((number of consecutive losing outcomes))
 3. The improveddevice of claim 1 comprising said data input device configured toinclude an input key to input the wager for the next play which thatinputs the wager for the next play according to the wagering strategy ofPlay Wager=W×2^((number of consecutive winning outcomes))
 4. Theimproved device of claim 1 comprising said data input device having aninput key to input the wager for the next play according to the wageringstrategy of, Play Wager=W+(M×±1 wager unit), where M is equal to thenumber of consecutive wins (+) or losses (−).
 5. The improved device ofclaim 1 comprising said input device having a wager input key actuationof which by the player doubles the next preceding game wager.
 6. Theimproved device of claim 5 comprising said processor configured todefine a maximum game play wager and to interrupt actuation of said keyfor doubling the game play wager when said resulting wager would exceedsaid maximum game play wager.
 7. The improved device of claim 1comprising said input device having a wager input key actuation of whichby the player halves the next preceding game wager.
 8. The improveddevice of claim 7 comprising said processor configured to define aminimum game play wager and to interrupt actuation of said key forhalving the game play wager when said resulting wager would be less thansaid minimum game play wager.
 9. The improved device of claim 1comprising said input device having wager input keys actuation of whichby the player increases or decreases the next preceding game play wagerby one unit for the game play wager.
 10. The improved device of claim 1comprising said processor configured to control the display to displaydata corresponding to the historical game play wagers input by the playfor a plurality of the preceding plays to the player.
 11. The improveddevice of claim 1 comprising said processor configured to include datacorresponding to at least one wagering strategy, to compare the datacorresponding to the player's preceding game wagers to said wageringstrategy data and if there is a correspondence to control the display todisplay to the player data corresponding to the value for the next gameplay wager according to said strategy.
 12. The improved device of claim11 comprising said input device having an input keys actuation of whichby the player controls the processor to display data corresponding tothe initial game play wager to be made according to said wager strategy.13. A method for a player to play a series wagering game plays A_(1-N)of the type that, for each play, produces at least one of a winning orlosing outcome and where, if a losing outcome is produced, the playerloses their wager on that play and where if a winning outcome isproduced the player wins an award based upon their wager, said methodcomprising: providing an electronic display to display data to theplayer and a processor; selecting and displaying at said display gameindicia according to the rules of the game to serially produce said gameplay outcomes; the player inputting data with an input device to input awager for each of said game plays using wager value input keys arrangedaccording to at least one wagering strategy for determining the wageramount for a play based upon at least at least whether the nextpreceding game play outcome; storing the wagers input by the player insaid processor; for a first game play A₁ according to said wagerstrategy, selecting with said input device an initial wager W; saidprocessor determining if the outcome of play A₁ is a winning or losingoutcome and operating said data input device value input keys based uponsaid outcome of play A₁ to input the game wager for the next play basedupon said strategy.
 14. The method of claim 13 comprising configuringsaid data input device to include an input key to input the wager forthe next play according to the wagering strategy of PlayWager=W×2^((number of consecutive losing outcomes))
 15. The method ofclaim 13 comprising configuring said data input device to include aninput key to input the wager for the next play according to the wageringstrategy of Play Wager=W×2^((number of consecutive winning outcomes))16. The method of claim 13 comprising said configuring said data inputdevice having an input key to input the wager for the next playaccording to the wagering strategy of, Play Wager=W+(M×±1 wager unit),where M is equal to the number of consecutive wins (+) or losses (−).17. The method of claim 13 comprising configuring said input device tohave a wager input key, the player doubling their wager from the nextpreceding wager by actuation of said key.
 18. The method of claim 17comprising defining a maximum game play wager and said processorinterrupting actuation of said key for doubling the game play wager whensaid resulting wager would exceed said maximum game play wager.
 19. Themethod of claim 13 comprising configuring said input device to have awager input key, the player halving the game play wager from the nextpreceding game wager by actuation of said key.
 20. The method of claim19 comprising defining a minimum game play wager and said processorinterrupting actuation of said key for halving the game play wager whensaid resulting wager would be less than said minimum game play wager.21. The method of claim 13 comprising configuring said input device tohave wager input keys, actuating of which by the player increases ordecreases the next preceding game play wager by one unit for the gameplay wager.
 22. The improved device of claim 13 comprising saidprocessor controlling the display to display data corresponding to thehistorical game play wagers input by the play for a plurality of thepreceding plays to the player.
 23. The improved device of claim 13comprising said processor comparing configured to include datacorresponding to at least one wagering strategy, to compare
 24. Theimproved device of claim 13 comprising comparing the data correspondingto the player's preceding game wagers to said wagering strategy data andif there is a correspondence to control the display to display to theplayer data corresponding to the value for the next game play wageraccording to said strategy. said input device having an input keysactuation of which by the player controls the processor to display datacorresponding to the initial game play wager to be made according tosaid wager strategy.
 25. A system to facilitate a player to alter theirwager between the play of hands according to a selected wagering systemfor a wagering game comprising: an electronic or electro-mechanicaldevice for a player to enter an amount of a wager to play the next roundof play, said device including a plurality of input keys; means to inputwagers according to said wagering system an electronic display todisplay data to the player concerning the player's wager amount; andmeans for the player to prompt initiate the play of the game with theselected wager.
 26. The system of claim 25 comprising said deviceincluding a plurality of input keys for making at least the followingwagers in relation to the wager (W) for the previous round of play (i)same wager, (ii) double the wager.
 27. The system of claim 26 comprisingan additional input key for removing the wager.
 28. The system of claim26 comprising said device including a plurality of input keys for makingat least the following additional wager in relation to the wager (W) forthe previous round of play: half the wager.
 29. The system of claim 25comprising said device including a plurality of input keys for making atleast the following additional wagers in relation to the wager (W) forthe previous round of play (i) same wager, (ii) double the wager (iii)W+X, where X is a predetermined integer, (iv) W−X or (v) Y×X where Y isa preselected integer.
 30. The system of claim 25 comprising a displaythat shows the progress of the current betting series.
 31. The system ofclaim 30 comprising the ability to directly select the equivalent wagerdisplayed in the current betting series display as our active wager. 32.The system of claim 25 comprising an input key for placing a wager ofthe size indicated by the specified betting system and the prior bettinghistory.
 33. The system of claim 32 comprising an input key foradvancing to any bet amount within the betting system series
 34. Thesystem of claim 32 comprising an input key for backing up to any betamount with the given betting system series.
 35. The system of claim 32comprising game specific adjustments that take into account the effectof mid-play betting adjustments and that take into account commissionfees on winnings.
 36. A method for facilitating wagering on successiverounds of play of a game according to a predetermined wagering strategycomprising: providing an electronic or electro-mechanical device for aplayer to enter an amount of a wager to play the next round of play,said device including a plurality of input keys; configuring said keysto enable the inputting of wagers according to said wagering system; anddisplaying data to the player concerning the player's wager amount.